Plan for career change critical: A letter to the editor

It is tempting to criticize Coach Payton's decision to buy a residence in Dallas, but this should be tempered with consideration for his circumstances.

Professional sports coaches, as the saying goes, are hired to be fired. That simply goes with the territory. The tenure of even the very accomplished coaches is relatively short, as careers go, and longer-term planning for unemployment (forced or voluntary) is vital.

There are a few notable exceptions, but with this sort of job security, one needs to plan for abrupt changes in circumstances, as well as longer-term life-style decisions.

We pray Coach Payton will be guiding the Saints in the Super Bowl challenge until his gray beard gets in the way of his play calling, and then he can rock on his porch, wherever he decides that porch should be.